


A Fairy Tale Ending

by MisMiz (Jaaaaack51)



Category: The Magnificent Seven (TV)
Genre: First Kiss, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Happily Ever After, Happy Ending, Jealous Chris, Kissing, M/M, Magnificent Seven AU: ATF, Misunderstandings, Secrets, Slash, romance novels
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-21
Updated: 2015-11-21
Packaged: 2018-05-02 17:17:17
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,494
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5256971
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jaaaaack51/pseuds/MisMiz
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Who says life can't imitate art?</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Fairy Tale Ending

A FAIRY TALE ENDING

"Hey, anyone read the latest V.T. Sharpe?" Buck Wilmington waved a dog-eared paperback in the direction of his coworkers as he maneuvered his way through the maze of desks and debris that comprised the 11th floor ATF office of the “Magnificent Seven”. "Damn it's hot, let me tell you." Buck continued, before any of his fellow agents had a chance to reply.

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but that looks suspiciously like one of those romance novels commonly referred to as 'bodice rippers'." Ezra Standish drawled, leaning back in his chair and raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah, Buck. I thought only girls read that stuff." JD wrinkled his nose.

"Perhaps Mr. Wilmington feels he is lacking sufficient romance in his everyday life, JD." Ezra smiled wickedly. "Or perhaps our comrade secretly yearns for a tall, dark stranger, with mighty thews and bronzed chest, to ravish him."

"With Buck here, it would more likely be the other way around. That tall dark stranger is the one who'd need to watch his virtue." Nathan contributed, grinning.

Buck remained unruffled, despite the teasing. "You boys seem to know an awful lot about books that you claim you don’t read.” He shrugged. “But it's exactly that kind of attitude that explains why you lot don't have anything better to do on Friday nights than hang out with each other."

"Buck has the right of it." Josiah said sagely, looking up from his paper. "I always considered reading romance novels in the nature of research. Women are complex creatures, and we men shouldn't shun any source of information that might contribute to our understanding of them."

"Thank you, Josiah. I rest my case." Buck shot the other men a triumphant look. They remained unimpressed.

"I still aint reading any book called", JD peered at the cover of the novel in question, "A Hero's Heart."

"Should've been called A Hero's Hunka Hunka Burning Love, more like." Nathan snorted.

Buck shook his head in mock sadness. "It’s like casting pearls before swine."

"Hey, Vin. What about you? Where do you stand on this issue?" Buck turned his attention to the silent sharpshooter, the only one of them making any pretense of actually working.

Vin glanced up briefly. "Never read any romance novels, so I can't really say." The barely discernible emphasis on the word 'read' went unnoticed. The lanky, blue eyed agent then shrugged and turned his attention back to the computer screen before him.

"Yeah, but _would_ you read one?" Buck persisted.

Vin shrugged his shoulders again, without looking up from his computer. "Maybe."

"And maybe Mr. Tanner is merely too polite to tell you that he would sooner swim in a lake full of alligators, Buck." Ezra shot the other man a smug look. "Isn't that correct, my friend?" Ezra nudged the sharpshooter with one elegantly shod foot.

Vin was saved from having to reply by the appearance of Chris Larabee. "You boys have all your work done? And it's only 8:30 in the morning? I'm impressed." The dry tone of their leader caused Nathan and JD to smile sheepishly, while Josiah continued to serenely read his paper and Buck and Ezra both swiveled around to look directly at Chris. A faint color spread across the sharpshooter's face at the sound of Chris's voice and he hunched further into his chair. Fortunately for Vin's peace of mind, his coworkers failed to take note of this unusual reaction on his part.

"Hey there, pard." Buck greeted cheerfully, not one whit abashed by Chris's sarcasm. "You ever read one of Sarah's romance novels on the sly?" A year or two ago, even Buck wouldn't have dared mention that name, but Chris had attained some measure of peace since the formation of Team 7 and the memory of his wife and child no longer sent him into a tailspin. Every last part of Buck was grateful for this change. Buck had loved Sarah and Adam with a fierce devotion and not being able to talk about them with the only other person who remembered them like he did had been a kind of Hell.

"No. But she used to read the good parts out loud." Chris flashed his all too seldom seen grin and walked over to lean across Vin and grab a sheaf of papers off his desk.

"Well boys, my voice may not be as sweet as Sarah's, but the ladies aint complained yet. Listen and learn." Buck cleared his throat, ignoring the snort of disbelief from JD, and opened the book to page 77.  
  
"Maybe you could squeeze in a few minutes’ work in between chapters, Buck?" Chris suggested, heading back towards his office.

"Hold on there a minute, Chris. You might like this." Buck smiled widely.

At Buck's words, Vin's head shot up and he looked around at the tall, blond figure of their leader. "Chris, I need to talk to you about this case I'm working on. Got a few questions."

"They can wait." Buck waved a hand impatiently at Vin. "I want Chris to hear this."  
  
"Go on." Chris folded his arms and waited for Buck to continue. "Unless this _can't_ wait, Vin?" Chris shot a slightly puzzled glance at the sharpshooter. "No." Vin muttered. "I reckon it can wait."

Everyone was looking at Buck now, their curiosity roused. Never one to keep an audience waiting, he quickly began reading.

_Vincent's gaze traveled slowly up Christine's body. She stood before him tall and proud, her blonde hair and green eyes making her stand out like a beacon of light in the shadows. The long haired, rangy young tracker lowered his voice until it was a seductive purr._  
  
_"I want you. I want to taste your sweet essence, to touch your silken skin, to breathe in the purity of your soul." The words were a declaration. More than he'd meant to say. His lips curved upwards in a small smile. He could not regret saying them._

_"And how do you know my soul is so pure, tracker?" She spoke challengingly, but the husky tone of her voice betrayed her own desire. And her answering smile was its own declaration._

_"It shows itself in your every action, your every word." Vincent closed the distance between them until he could feel the heat of her through the thin shift she wore._

_"I..." Christine felt warm lips crush her own, cutting off the words she had been about to utter. With a moan, she surrendered to the delicious feelings this man was conjuring up in her. And conjuring was indeed an appropriate word. His every touch was magic, filling her body with an almost unbearable need._

_Feeling her mouth open beneath his, Vincent deepened the kiss, tangling one hand in the silky blonde hair cascading down her back. He could feel her own hands shift until they rested on his backside, caressing and pulling him closer. He was glad she was no shrinking violet. He wanted her to desire him as desperately as he desired her. And it appeared the spirits had granted his wish._

Buck stopped reading and looked up from the book.

"Hey!" JD cried indignantly. "You can't stop now. You're just about to get to the good stuff." The young agent blushed as he realized what he'd just said.

"Indeed, JD, indeed." Ezra murmured.

"Maybe I'll borrow Raine's copy." Nathan smiled. “I might have been a bit hasty judging this book by its cover.”

"You can borrow my copy, JD." Buck offered, smiling devilishly. "Maybe you can read the good stuff to Casey. Just don't let Nettie catch you doing it."

"Shut up, Buck." JD said, reaching for the book.

"All right, boys. We've all had our cheap thrills and fun for the day. It's time to get back to work." Chris straightened up from where he'd been leaning against the wall by his office, but Buck wasn't quite done yet.

"You fellas notice any resemblance between our fair heroine and Chris here?" Buck shot a sideways look at Chris, blithely ignoring the ferocious scowl being sent his way.

"Hmmmm... Blonde hair, green eyes, a feminine version of our illustrious leader's name. I do see your point. The purity of soul remark leads me to believe however, that whomever wrote this couldn't possibly be well acquainted with the same Mr. Larabee as ourselves." The scowl was now turned in Ezra's direction. The southern agent merely smiled impudently in return.

"Is there something you're not telling us, Brother Chris?" Josiah rumbled, joining in the fun. "You know anything about a secret life of his, Vin?" The big man winked at the sharpshooter as Chris shook his head, not certain if he was more angry or amused by the turn the conversation had taken.

"No." Vin exclaimed, a little too forcefully. A fine sheen of sweat covered his forehead. "You're talking crazy. Anyway that description fits more than just Chris."

"Vin's got a point. It fits Mary Travis, too." Nathan mused thoughtfully.

"And the hero guy is a tracker named Vincent, kind of like Vin." JD pointed out excitedly. "So maybe Mrs. Travis wrote the book because she has a crush on Vin." Everyone just looked at him and JD gulped, glancing nervously at Chris and then at Vin.

"JD, don't go telling everyone that Mary wrote that book." Vin said in disgust.

"Who is this V.T. Sharpe, anyway? Does it say?" Nathan asked. He was nothing if not practical.

"Nope. It's a big old mystery. No one knows who she really is. There aint even a blurb on the back telling where she's from or anything." Buck shook his head.

"Well then, it looks like you boys will just have to do some work to take your mind off this mystery." Chris smiled and glanced around the room, hesitating a bit when his gaze passed over Vin, who was apparently enthralled by the report he was reading, since he failed to look up and meet Chris's eyes.

Under their leader's gimlet eye, everyone eventually settled down and got back to business as usual, causing one lanky, long haired sharpshooter to heave a quiet sigh of relief.  
***********************************  
_Vincent gazed down at the sleeping beauty in his arms. He'd never believed in fairy tale endings. Until now._

Vin typed the last words and then sighed heavily, arching his back and flexing tired fingers. Writing these books took a lot out of him. But they were the only release he had. His dreams needed somewhere to go or they would drive him crazy. And at least this way maybe they could give someone else some happiness since they weren't likely to ever do him any good.

He had to be more careful, though. Having Buck walk into work yesterday with one of his books had nearly given him a damn heart attack. He'd figured when he started writing that it wouldn't be hard keeping it a secret since none of the boys would be caught dead reading those kinds of novels. He should've known better. But he'd damn well keep this secret or die trying. Famous last words.

Opening up his browser, he decided to check his e-mail while he was at the computer. Because after spending the whole of today sitting at the damn desk in his stuffy apartment, he had no plans on getting anywhere near a computer or a desk the rest of the weekend.

There was nothing of interest in his e-mail unless you counted Chris’s request to send some files from the case he'd worked on last week. Ignoring the familiar feeling of disappointment in his gut, Vin assembled the necessary files and sent them off. Then he decided he might as well send the rough draft he'd just finished, the sequel to A Hero's Heart, to his publisher. Then hopefully he could forget about it for a while. Along with the feelings it was supposed to exorcise.

He'd made himself some dinner and had just cracked open a beer and picked up the remote when his cell phone pinged, indicating he had a text message.

We have to talk, _Vincent_. It was from Chris. Oh shit...

Halfway through typing his response with shaking fingers, his phone flickered and died. Vin sat there, staring at the blank screen and wondering what kind of ending this story was going to have. If the sick feeling in his gut was any indication, he might have to take up writing horror novels.

Vin was still sitting on the sofa, beer untouched on the coffee table, his cell phone dark and silent next to it, when he heard a knock on the door. Chris had arrived.

Vin got slowly to his feet and walked over to the front door, which was in danger of being battered down if he didn't open it in the next five seconds. Well, at least this experience was proving to be damn good research for his next book. He now knew exactly what it felt like to have your knees quivering and your throat tight and your mind in a whirl and your gut churning with fear.

He stood in front of the door for a moment, undecided. What the hell was he going to say? What the hell was Chris aiming to do? Well, he wasn't going to get any answers just standing here, that was for damn sure. Taking a deep breath, he opened the door.

A real live fire breathing dragon strode into the room, wearing the guise of Chris Larabee. Well, shit. Maybe Vin should’ve read more sci-fi and fantasy because he didn’t know the first thing about how to deal with dragons. But it looked like he was about to get a crash course. Vin closed the door and turned to face the dragon errr... Chris.

"What the hell is this, Vin?" Chris waved a sheaf of papers in his direction.

"Looks like a bunch of papers, Chris." Vin drawled, leaning back against the door and folding his arms.

"I know they're a bunch of papers, Vin." Chris replied through clenched teeth. "I printed them out myself from the files you sent me. But I don't recall any case we were working on that involved Vincent, Christine, and a bearskin rug!"

"Yeah, well. I reckon it got sent to you by accident. Sorry about that, cowboy." Vin was doing his damnedest to stay cool. Chris couldn't know how he really felt. It was hard enough witnessing the destruction of all his hopes and dreams first hand. He'd be damned if he'd let anyone see him water the ashes of his dreams with tears. Especially not Chris.

"Sorry? Sorry that I found out? Sorry you didn't tell me? What exactly are you sorry for, Vin? I didn't think a famous author like yourself would have to be sorry about anything." Chris's tone was biting and his green eyes were flashing with anger.

"Aint famous, Chris. Hell, Buck and Josiah are the only two people I know that admit to reading the damn things.” Chris didn't respond to Vin's attempt at humor. He just stood there staring at Vin. Waiting. Vin sighed. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you about the book, Chris."

"So tell me now, Vin. Were you even going to bother saying goodbye when the time came or were me and the rest of the boys going to find that out by accident, too?"

"Goodbye? What the hell are you talking about, Chris? You aint kicking me off the team, are you?" Vin felt the cold knot of fear in his belly harden.

"Surely a guy who sells as many books as you do isn't planning on working himself to death in a thankless job like ours? You probably make more on one book than I'll make in the next twenty years."

"I never looked on our job as thankless. I always figured we were doing some good and that was all the thanks I ever needed. Thought you felt the same way. Never knew you had such a hankering for money, Chris." Vin felt a stab of disillusionment.

Chris raked his hands angrily through his hair. "This aint about me. If I'd wanted to be rich, I sure as hell would have picked another career. This is about you and what the hell you think you're doing."

"I'm doing the same thing I always have, Chris. I go to work, where hopefully I help catch a few of the bad guys, and then I come home where I write books that will hopefully entertain a few people. That's all."

"That's all." Chris repeated, his face set. "So you plan on things staying the same as they have been, then?"

"I reckon." Vin was a bit confused. He'd thought Chris was pissed because he'd figured out that Vin had been writing about _him_. And now, it was obvious Chris _was_ pissed, but Vin wasn't quite sure why, anymore. It wasn't like Chris to get upset over a man keeping his own counsel. No. Chris Larabee knew all about secrets and how to keep them. So what had gotten his back up?

"So you don't plan on proposing to Mary any time soon, then? The two of you are happy enough with the way things are?" Chris asked sneeringly.

"Mary?" Now Vin was really confused. What the hell did Mary Travis have to do with anything?  
  
"Yes. Mary. You know. Blonde hair. Green eyes. The woman you wrote about in your book."

So Chris _did_ like Mary. Shit. And now he thought that she and Vin... aww hell. He could add the feeling of having your heart actually break right in two to his repertoire. Well, at least now he knew why Chris was so mad.

"Mary aint the only person in the world looks like that." Vin pointed out quietly, trying not to hate Mary Travis too much. Wasn't her fault. It was Chris Larabee's fault, dammit. Blind. Stubborn. Pigheaded. Smart. Honorable. Brave. Damn him, anyway.

"Maybe not. But she's the only one you know. Unless you got some other lady tucked away that we don't know anything about. You've proved you're good at keeping secrets." Chris's voice was still bitter. Like the coffee Josiah liked to drink.  
  
"You got blond hair, Chris. And green eyes." Vin hadn't meant to say it. The words just slipped out. Part of a dream that just refused to lay down and die a nice quiet death.

"Yeah? So? What's that got to do with...?" Chris stopped abruptly as understanding dawned. Vin watched the emotions chase each other across Chris's face. Disbelief. Shock. Anger. And then nothing.

"It's got everything to do with you, cowboy." Vin said the words, not knowing what he hoped to gain by them, just knowing that it was a relief to finally say them. And at least he had a second career to fall back on when Chris booted him out on his ass. Although, he'd have to find something else to write about. If there was no Chris in his life, then there would be no dreams of love either.

"So, _I'm_ Christine." Chris said flatly.

Vin nodded.

"You made me a woman."

Vin nodded again.

"Goddammit, Vin. You've got some nerve."

Vin looked up at him. "No. Just a good imagination."

"Well then, maybe you can try imagining asking me out for coffee or something. What do you say?” 

“You want to go out for coffee?” Vin repeated, not sure he’d heard correctly.

“Some other time maybe. Right now I’m busy trying to seduce this long haired, blue eyed tracker.”

“Seduce?” Vin was still having trouble processing.

“Don’t you read your own books? You should know how the story goes.” Chris shook his head and then smiled wolfishly.” A brown haired blue eyed heroine would make a nice change for your next book, don't you think though? Give me a chance to exercise _my_ manhood for a change.”

"Exercise your manhood?"

"Yep. Like this." Chris closed the gap between them and grasped Vin by the shoulders. Seconds later, Vin felt a pair of warm, soft lips sliding across his own.

"What about Mary?" Vin asked, when he could breathe, and formulate words of his own, again.

"You don't plan on writing a book about her, do you?" Chris demanded.

"No."

"Ok, then." Chris started trailing his lips down Vin's neck, making it difficult to think of anything else.  
  
"But..." Vin gasped.

"Vin..." Chris raised his head and glared down at the sharpshooter. "I don't recall Vincent and Christine doing all this talking. Now where are you hiding that bearskin rug?"

Vin gave up. Fairy tales weren't meant to be examined too closely, after all. They were just meant to be lived. Happily ever after, if he had anything to say about it.

_And it **was** happily ever after for Vin Tanner and Chris Larabee. For the most part, anyway. _

The End  



End file.
